Real Grass Keeps its Cool: Surface Temperature Comparison
A thermal imaging comparison conducted in direct sunlight at an ambient temperature of approximately 29°C showed a clear difference between artificial turf and natural grass.
The artificial surface reached 44.8°C to 51.2°C, while the natural grass remained between 27.4°C and 31.1°C. At the highest readings, the artificial turf was more than 20°C hotter.
Natural grass stays cooler because living plants release moisture through evapotranspiration, helping to dissipate heat. Artificial turf cannot provide the same cooling effect, so its fibres and infill absorb and retain more solar energy.
What the temperature difference means for sports and landscapes
For greenkeepers, grounds teams, landscapers and facility managers, surface temperature is more than a matter of appearance.
Players can experience heat through their footwear and during direct contact with the ground. This is particularly relevant in sports involving falls, sliding or extended periods close to the surface. Goalkeepers, children, coaches, officials and maintenance teams may all be exposed for significant periods.
In landscaped settings, the same issue applies to gardens, schools, public spaces, hospitality venues, commercial developments and communal amenity areas. Children may sit or play directly on the surface, while dogs and other pets can be particularly vulnerable when walking across materials that have absorbed intense solar heat.
A temperature difference approaching 20°C can therefore have a meaningful effect on the comfort and usability of an outdoor space. By remaining cooler, natural turf can help to:
- Create a more comfortable environment for players, visitors and maintenance teams.
- Reduce heat exposure during training, events and periods of intensive use.
- Provide a cooler surface where children, athletes or animals may come into direct contact with the ground.
- Support more comfortable urban and residential environments.
- Complement trees and planting as part of a broader approach to reducing heat build-up.
- Allow rainfall to infiltrate the ground rather than contributing to surface runoff.
Artificial surfaces are sometimes irrigated before use to provide temporary cooling. However, the effect can be short-lived under strong sunlight and requires access to water, suitable infrastructure and additional management. Healthy natural turf provides cooling through its normal biological processes when sufficient soil moisture is available.
Selecting resilient natural turf
The natural turf in this comparison was established with Johnsons J Premier Tee, containing 40% tetraploid perennial ryegrass, 20% perennial ryegrass, 35% strong creeping red fescue and 5% rough-stalked meadow-grass. Whilst this mixture is built with excellent drought resistance, we don’t have any correlating data to suggest this impacts the surface temperature.
Looking to the future, the inclusion of increasingly fine-leaved tall fescue cultivars could provide turf managers and landscapers with further opportunities to combine presentation, durability, drought tolerance and natural surface cooling.
Tall fescue could make this temperature difference even more significant. Its deep rooting system helps it access moisture lower in the soil profile, supporting drought tolerance and continued transpiration during hot, dry conditions.
DLF breeding programmes are continuing to develop finer-leaved tall fescue cultivars that combine improved appearance with strong rooting, heat tolerance and drought resilience. These characteristics could make tall fescue an increasingly valuable component of future sports and amenity turf mixtures.